1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to improvements in vehicle car seat. More particularly, the present invention relates to a multi-servo adjustable car seat with movable base, back and sides that adjusts from an infant to an adult.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
A child is often transported in an automobile. A number of regulations require that the child be properly restrained in the seat until they reach an appropriate age, weight or height. Over time the appropriate age, weight or height of the baby has increased to eight years of age and younger. This requirement may continue to change. The major reason for the regulation is to accommodate the child in a car seat that is configured to accommodate an adult.
One of the simplest ways to satisfy the requirement is to install a car seat within a vehicle. As the child grows in size the seat must be replaced with a larger seat until the child is large enough to not require the seat. Over the years a number of seat manufacturers have tried to accommodate children by making chairs that have fold-out features that essentially raise the seating platform. These devices can then be folded back into the seat to accommodate an adult. A number of patents and or publications have been made to address these issues. Exemplary examples of patents and or publication that try to address this /these problem(s) are identified and discussed below.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,450 issued Apr. 20, 1976 to Paul Gambotti and U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,503 issued Apr. 7, 1987 to Ken Kamijo et al., both disclose integrated child car seats where the child seat folds out from the back of the car seat. Because the child seat folds out from the back of the seat, the front of the seat is still available for an adult occupant. While these patents disclose an automobile seat that converts into a seat that can hold a child the child seat is configured in only one size and is not automatically adjustable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,959 issue Oct. 29, 1996 to Weber et al. discloses a vehicle seat with an integrated booster seat with interchangeable modules. This patent has a booster seat that is stored within the backrest of the seat. The backrest is opened to fold out the booster seat. A variety of modules can be interchanged with the seat to accommodate different sized children as the children grow larger. While this patent provides multiple seating options for a growing child, the modules must be manually interchanged.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,941 issued Jan. 9, 2007 to Rodney Thomas discloses a vehicular child seat assembly. The child seat is integrated into the car seat. The backrest of the car seat folds out to provide a reclined rear facing position for a new born or infant. This patent provides seating for a rear facing child but does not provide for a larger child that can sit in a forward facing position and the conversion must be performed manually.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,216 issued Sep. 10, 1985 to Karl D. Hassel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,176 issued Aug. 6, 1985 to Bill Wyttenbach and U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,4086 issued Feb. 13, 1990 to Royce E. Steward each disclose a forward facing child seat that folds out from the backrest of a chair. In all of these patents the child seat is basically a booster seat that can accommodate up to a particular size. Because they only accommodate a child to a given size they are not useful for a broad range of child growth.
What is needed is a car seat that uses multiple moving surfaces that are changeable as a child gets larger as well and movable to accommodate an adult. Additionally the changes to the surfaces should be provided automatically and with a memory to return to preset, memory or selectable positions. The proposed car seat in this document provides a solution.